2012 Speak Truth To Power Human Rights Teaching Fellows

Speak Truth To Power Human Rights Teaching Fellows

Following a competitive application process, ten American University Washington College of Law students were selected as 2012 STTP Human Rights Teaching Fellows. Fellows include former professional teachers, women who worked with refugees in Uganda and Kenya, as well as a former auctioneer. Read more about the 2012 Speak Truth To Power Human Rights Teaching Fellows.

Alli Assiter

Alli was born and raised in a small rural community in Canyon, Texas. She graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 2010 with a double major in Political Science and International Studies, and also studied International Politics and Human Rights at the University of Sheffield in Sheffield, England. She is currently getting a Juris Doctor and a Master of Arts in International Affairs at American University Washington College of Law and American University School of International Service. Last summer, Alli interned in Khayelitsha, South Africa with the Treatment Action Campaign, focusing on human rights issues in South African townships. Her primary area of interest is issues pertaining to international women’s rights, including trafficking, domestic violence, and reproductive rights.

Samit D’Cunha

Samit was born and raised in Montreal, Canada, but has been an avid traveler since his early teens. Learning about human rights in college quickly attracted him to the field. Human rights advocacy has taken him from Montreal to Prague, the Czech Republic; Pattaya, Thailand; and right here in Washington, DC; where he currently attends American University Washington College of Law and is working towards his Juris Doctor and Master of Arts. He has a particular interest in the relationship of peace, justice, and human rights, and has begun to form his professional niche in genocide and war crimes prosecution.

Sara Harlow

Sara graduated from Amherst College in 2005 with a Bachelor of Arts in Neuroscience. After three years in veterinary medicine, she opted for a change of pace and moved to Thailand to teach English. While in Thailand, she became involved with the United States Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) and worked as a Caseworker for the program in Bangkok, Thailand, and later in Nairobi, Kenya. These positions took her to refugee camps and urban refugee settings across Southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, and inspired her to pursue a career in human rights as a law student at American University Washington College of Law. During her 1L year, Sara was involved as a volunteer for the War Crimes Research Office and the Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law. During her 1L summer, Sara held Dean’s Fellowships with the Gender Jurisprudence Collections at the War Crimes Research Office and the International Human Rights Law Clinic.

Antonia Latsch

Antonia was born and raised in Hamburg, Germany. She was an exchange student with the International Legal Studies Program at American University Washington College of Law (WCL) in 2008, and graduated from Bucerius Law School in Germany in August 2012. Antonia has returned to Washington to attain her Master of Laws (LL.M) specializing in human rights at WCL. She has been involved with Amnesty International and Roteract for over 5 years. She was a tutoring and mentoring program fellow for underprivileged children in her hometown of Hamburg, where she also worked with pro bono legal services to help those who could not afford legal guidance.

Diana Navas

Diana graduated from the University of California, San Diego with a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies and Political Science. As an undergraduate, she studied abroad in West Africa, where she worked for Women United Against AIDS in Ghana (WUAAG). As a program coordinator for WUAAG, she developed income-generating projects and established partnerships with other non-profit organizations to provide services for women living with HIV/AIDS. She subsequently interned with the Center for Politics and Foreign Relations at John Hopkins University, where she conducted research and produced brief articles on key foreign policy issues. She is currently a student at American University Washington College of Law and is working towards her Juris Doctor and Master of Arts. Her legal interests include immigration, refugee and asylum law, and international public health.

Nicole Weinstock

Nicole graduated from Cornell University in 2008 with a degree in American Studies and a concentration in Law and Society. She worked in New York City for three years before starting law school at American University Washington College of Law. During that time, she also mediated community disputes in Brooklyn, NY. Nicole loves to travel and experience new cultures. She spent last summer working with refugees in Uganda on access to justice issues. Nicole is excited to get into the classroom and share her passion for human rights.

Brittany West

Brittany graduated from Furman University in 2009 with a Bachelor of Arts in Asian Studies. She is currently a law student at American University Washington College of Law. Before law school, she moved to Beijing to study Mandarin at the Inter-University Program. This past summer, she participated in Washington College of Law’s Program of Advanced Studies on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, and interned at the Centre for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria. Brittany is interested in local implementation of human rights. She is excited to bring a human rights dialogue to the classroom through Speak Truth to Power.

Brenda Wylie

Brenda grew up in Maine and began her travels by packing up and moving to Wisconsin for her undergraduate degree at Beloit College in Wisconsin, where she majored in Political Science and Dance. After graduating, she joined Teach for America and taught middle school math in Harlem. She has also earned her Master of Arts in Teaching. Brenda has done human rights work in Ghana, studied European Politics in Denmark, worked for a healthcare internet startup in Manhattan, and is now excited to enrich her law school education at American University Washington College of Law by getting back into the classroom.

Jacqueline Zamarripa

Jacqueline graduated from the University of California, Irvine with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and International Studies. During her undergraduate studies, she focused her efforts on promoting awareness through education. She participated in Global Connect, a student-run organization that taught international issues throughout various high schools. Committed to her cause, she studied abroad in Cape Town, South Africa where she worked with the Legal Welfare Community Organization, addressing and advocating the injustices of marginalized individuals within the local townships. Currently a law student at American University Washington College of Law, she serves on the Student Advisory Board for the Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law and is a Junior Staff Member on the American University International Law Review.

Alyssa Zamora

Alyssa Zamora graduated from the University of Notre Dame where she majored in Political Science and Russian. Alyssa spent one semester studying Russian language and culture in St. Petersburg, Russia. Following graduation, Alyssa moved to New Orleans where she taught eighth grade English as a Teach for American Corps member. She is a currently a law student at American University Washington College of Law (WCL), a member of the Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law’s Student Advisory Board, and a Junior Staff Member of the American University International Law Review. During the summer of 2012, Alyssa participated in the WCL study abroad program at The Hague.